


stay with me

by spookyjoshler



Series: in the lonely hour [1]
Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: M/M, Minor Character Death, Minor Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-30
Updated: 2015-07-30
Packaged: 2018-04-12 00:19:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4458098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spookyjoshler/pseuds/spookyjoshler
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>tyler becomes a little more invested in a one night stand than he'd care to admit.</p><p>(lower case intended)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. i'm not good at a one-night stand

he tugs on the wrinkled boxers, followed by his skinny jeans. he watches as josh rolls over in his sleep, grabbing at the empty space on the bed. the room still smells like sweat and sex and strangely, josh's sandalwood shampoo. josh is beautiful in his sleep. he looks at peace, the usual storm brewing in his eyes replaced with serenity and quiet snores. tyler feels bad for leaving him so early in the morning, but it was kind of a mistake. josh was too raw, too emotionally vulnerable for someone like tyler who had built walls of steel around his heart and drops lovers faster than rain falls.

as tyler opens the door to leave josh’s room, a blur of grey streaks past him. it’s josh’s cat, a small dark colored kitten he named spooky jim. well shit, tyler thinks as the cat gracefully leaps onto the bed, landing right on top of a sleeping josh. josh stirs groggily and tyler decides he hates cats. tyler has two choices; he can either make a run for it now or remain as quiet as possible in the hopes that josh might actually fall back asleep. option one would make more noise, so he goes with option two. bad idea. the stupid cat mewls for food and of course, it wakes josh up. he gives the cat a lazy scratch behind the ears before he opens his eyes to see a half-clothed tyler with his bag in one hand and the other on the doorknob. the look on josh’s face is enough to make tyler drop the bag.

“ty, were you planning on leaving?” josh questions in a sleep laden voice.

he figures there’s no way to get around the question. “ah… yeah, i was gonna try to get back home before you woke up.”

“oh, okay. i guess this is goodbye? it was nice uh, having sex with you.” josh mumbles.

his eyes betray his heart. they’re so wounded looking and it makes tyler want to figure out why such a wonderful person like josh has such sad eyes. _unless you want me to stay?_ tyler hears himself ask.

“please stay. nobody ever sticks around.” josh begs.

 

* * *

 

before he knows it, tyler is perched on josh’s kitchen sink, watching him spoon pancake batter onto a hot pan. he’s admiring josh’s walls, decorated with polaroid pictures of him with various friends. one catches his eye; it’s of josh and a pretty platinum blonde girl kissing him on the cheek. josh follows tyler’s eyes to the picture of him and the mystery girl and his expression hardens.

“that’s debby. she was my best friend in the world. she died last year, her ex-boyfriend was an abusive asshole and one day he got so mad at her, he shot her. right in front of their son. how fucked up is that? he was wasted and she was trying to take the boy and get away and he got really angry and started shoving her around and hitting her and he eventually pulled a gun on her and shot her.”

tyler is shocked. the pancake is burning and the acrid scent fills his nostrils, but it isn’t nearly as bad as the evident pain almost radiating off josh. instinctually, tyler hops down and wraps his arms tentatively around josh’s waist. he leans into tyler’s hold and trashes the burnt pancake.

“it still hurts. debby believed in true love and she was always pushing for me to be my best self. she hated that i came home with a different person from time to time and they never stuck around. i couldn’t find anyone that thinks i’m worthy of their love or whatever, but ever since debby’s death i don’t really believe in love anymore. i just want someone who’s willing to stay with me.” josh remarks bitterly.

“i’ll stay,” tyler finds himself saying. “i’ve been searching for someone for too long and i think it’s time i’ve settled down for a bit.”

josh smiles, a real smile that tyler hasn’t seen before. tyler loves josh’s smile already. they set the small table together and stack pancakes on their plates. tyler eats in silence, accompanied by josh’s steady breathing. he thinks debby would be proud. the sun is rising and it coats the small kitchen in a beautiful honeyed glow, throwing sunbeams onto josh’s figure. spooky jim purrs contentedly, basking in the warmth. as they eat, tyler doesn’t see the storm or the sadness in josh’s eyes, he sees happiness and a small glimmer of hope.


	2. lay with me so it doesn't hurt

“okay, so i wet the bed until i was eleven, i want to know what the world looks like from your eyes, and i have a favorite sibling.” tyler utters breathlessly.

 

he’s been staying with josh for a few days like he promised, but hasn’t opened up to him until now. josh was quick to lay out all his emotions on the table for tyler to scrutinize as if to say, _here i am, all of my messy parts and dirty laundry right in front of you. take me or leave me._

__

“why are you telling me all of this?”

 

“you have a right to know. you told me all of your secrets and i felt i should do the same.”

“i don’t have a right to anything. thanks for telling me that though.”

tyler likes josh a lot. he likes the sharp edges of his hipbones and the soft curves of his ass. josh is the loveliest juxtaposition tyler’s met and really, he’s quite glad to have josh around.

“i’ve slept with more people in the past two weeks than i can count on one hand. i felt like i was just wandering around, floating through life without it really meaning anything. i’m pretty lucky that all my floating led me to you.”

josh smiles again, and tyler just wants to kiss the heck out of him. spooky jim curls around tyler’s feet lovingly. he’s found his purpose, and it was found in a small apartment in philadelphia, with a cherry red headed boy and a cat that’s probably mcgonagall with how wicked smart he is. tyler appreciates josh’s mismatched silverware and his peeling gray-blue paint and the area rug with the huge coffee stain on a corner. tyler appreciates josh, all of josh.

“i’m afraid of commitment and even more afraid of love. we’ll have to take things slow and i can’t make any promises i’ll be there for you always, but i can give you now.” tyler admits.

  
josh grins and nods. “and that’s enough.”

**Author's Note:**

> this is the beginning of a series i'm starting based off of sam smith's album, in the lonely hour
> 
> make good choices kiddos |-/


End file.
